All or Nothing: My Journey through IBanking Recruitment – Tales from the Pit Episode I Part 5

This is a continuation of a series of posts. See parts 1, 2,3 and 4 here, here, here and here.

I called the VP I had met back and he asked if I could come back to Scotia Plaza; the Head of Investment Banking was taking the time to meet with some of the candidates. Meet with the Head of IB?!?!?! I got back on the subway and was back at Scotia within the hour.

This time, I went right up to the 66th floor, home of the Scotia Investment Banking, M&A and ECM groups. I was guided into a large boardroom with floor to ceiling windows facing the waterfront. I tried not to be too impressed as I watched the Porter planes landing at Billy Bishop airport in the distance.

I really had no idea what to expect. Meeting with someone so senior wasn’t something I had anticipated and it certainly wasn’t a standard part of the recruiting process. I had prepared a bunch of questions to make sure I had something to say, but ultimately he led the conversation.

When he walked into the room, I could see that he had a marked up version of my resume. His first few questions were friendly and I could tell from what he was asking that he had been briefed about me from the other bankers I had interviewed with. I was impressed, he had done his homework.

The conversation stayed smooth and friendly; I liked him. That said, I was still on high alert, 100% ready to shift gears if he suddenly changed the flow of the conversation into more of a formal interview. Instead, he said something I hadn’t even considered was a possibility. He looked over at me and said:

Well Jay, the main reason I wanted you to come in today was because we think you’re a great candidate and we want to make you an offer! I hope you’ll accept.

He kept talking for a bit, but my head was spinning. I had to fight the urge to let out a massive “woooooooooooooo!!!!” The meeting came to a close and I got back on the elevator to descend 66 floors and get back to the street level. I walked out of Scotia Plaza and headed towards the intersection of Bay & King. As I stood in my suit and tie at the most important intersection for finance in Canada, I called my mom and said “guess who’s going to be an investment banker?” It felt like I was in a dream.

My mind racing so fast that it took me awhile to remember that the recruitment process wasn’t over for me. In a few days I had my final round interview at BMO. Would I have to grapple with deciding between two offers? It seemed surreal, but it was now a real possibility…